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Justice for Iran Goes Online with Documentary on Sexual Torture in the Islamic Republic

June 25, 2013| In anticipation of 26 June, the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, JFI is announcing the on-line release of its documentary Final Moments. In this groundbreaking production victims and witnesses recall experiences involving rape of virgin girls prior to execution and sexual torture at the hands of Islamic Republic prison authorities since 1979.

The film was premiered at JFI’s recent international symposium on 8 June in London, United Kingdom, marking the completion of its two-year-long research project on the issue of sexual torture over the past 34 years in Islamic Republic prisons. During the symposium JFI focussed on its bipartite in-depth report, Crimes and Impunity, highlighting the illegal nature of state policies that have left thousands of victims without legal recourse to physical or emotional rehabilitation and compensation. “The Islamic Republic authorities deny their role in subjecting countless citizens to torture of any kind and justify sexual torture, such as rape of virgins prior to execution, in the name of Islam,” said Shadi Sadr, the director of ‘Justice for Iran: Crime and Impunity’ project.

Almost two hundred victims voluntarily provided testimonies pertaining to horrific details of various forms of torture they were subjected to while in custody. In addition to Crimes and Impunity JFI produced a policy brief Raped Out of Paradise outlining illegal Islamic Republic policies tantamount to crimes against humanity, and steps foreign policy makers, the international community including the European Union and the United Nations, must take to end the culture of impunity prevalent among Islamic Republic authorities and agencies.

Through the on-line release of Final Moments JFI calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran, a signatory of the International Bill of Human Rights, to live up to its state responsibilities by both protecting the rights of Iranians who have been subjected to torture in Islamic Republic prisons and preventing future violations.

"Crime without Punishment: Justice for Iran" project was established in July 2010 with the aim of addressing and eradicating the practice of impunity prevalent among Iranian state officials and their use of systematic sexual abuse of women as a method of torture in order to extract confession. It is a London based project, hosted by Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) uses methods such as documentation of human rights violations, collection of information, and research about authority figures who play a role in serious and widespread violations of human rights in Iran; as well as use of judicial, political and international mechanisms in place, to execute justice, remove impunity and bring about accountability to the actors and agents of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.